Bendigo's tram system

Bendigo is one of two principal regional cities in Victoria which were built
on the gold rush. The other is Ballarat. Both
had tram systems in the past.

In 1890 Bendigo experimented with Battery trams, but it is no surprise that
the experiment failed and sent the operator bankrupt.
So, from 1892, the town was served by a Steam tram
system, which lasted until 1902. In 1903, the Electricity Supply Company
of Victoria (a British company) introduced electric trams, partly as a way
of selling electricity to customers along the routes. I do not as yet have
much information
about the trams running during this time, but among them were two single-truck
toastrack trams (also called Summer Cars)
which were built for the Bendigo
tramways in 1913. One of these is preserved at the
Bendigo Tramways.

Trams 24 & 26. Picture at David Bromage's Railpage Australia
In 1934, the State Electricity Commission of Victoria took over the
operations of the Electric Supply Company, including its three tramway
systems (Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong). Various trams from other systems
were brought to operate in Bendigo over the years,
including six Birney cars from Geelong, four of which had originally served
in Port Adelaide (see:
Geelong's Birney cars,
Adelaide's Birney cars).
Here is a map of the system prior to closure in 1972 (thanks to Chris
Brownbill)

The Bendigo Trust purchased all 23 electric trams upon the system's closure
in 1972, and it has acquired additional trams for preservation and
restoration.
The Bendigo Tramways and museum
now run as a tourist operation, and here is a map of their
current services (also thanks to Chris Brownbill)
The system operates out of the original 1903 tram depot, which makes it
the oldest operating tram depot in the country. The most famous feature
of this operation is the Bendigo "Talking Tram", which gives a recorded
commentary about the places that are being passed.